Interchangeable-car-placard device.



C. L. HERBST & R. G. AVANSINO.

INTERGHANGEABLE CAR PLAGARD DEVICE.

APPLICATION EILED 0013.24, 1912.

l 1,082,155 Patented Dec. 23, 1913.

uuuumggmgu WITNESSES l 1f l15 a am@ H 5.2%...

THEIR ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE, I

CHARLES HERBST AND ROMEO C. AVANSINO, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

INTERCHANGEABLE-CARPLACARD DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 24, 1912.

Patented Dec. 23, 1913.

seran No. 727,592.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that we, CHARLES L. HERBST and ROMEO C. AvANsrNo, citizens of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have jointly invented new and useful Improvements in Interchangeable- Car-Placard Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to interchangeable car placard devices for use on railway rolling stock for the designation of the contents of such cars or rolling stock as may bear the same.

It is customary in present day practice to provide separate placards for rolling stock, which are applied to the respective cars carrying the corresponding commodities when the cars are loaded or routed, and which are removed therefrom when the contents are removed or the cars reach their destination. Such rolling stock placards are now required by law, and their absence from cars in transit constitutes an infraction of interstate commerce law. Where fragile paper placards are used, the same frequently become detached from the cars inadvertently or by mischievous design, and rain frequently softens them so that they tear loose or are loosened by air currents, jarring or otherwise.

In accordance with the present invention we provide placards of permanent, durable form, and a plurality of the same which are so `jointly installed upon the car as to be capable of interchangeable use, or substitution one for the other in service, as the nature of the contents of the respective car varies from time to time. There are certain commodities, for each particular locality or territory from which or through which freight cars are shipped, which constitute the usual or normal load of given cars used in such traffic or to supply such sections of the country. Furthermore, certain cars are frequently set aside for the transportation of particular commodities or several of the same. It has been found possible, in perfecting the invention, to provide a plurality of interchangeable car placards applicable to any given car, and sufficiently extensive in the nature of the several wordings thereof so that the group or assemblage of the placards comprehensively covers all of the normal uses of the car; that is, provides for designation of all of the several:

commodities which such given car is adapted or designated to transport. We therefore have provided an assemblage of placards which are interchangeable as to presentation or display, the outermost of which, or the one at any given time in use, confines, covers, conceals and protects the remaining placards of such assemblage, all of the placards being at all times held or retained in compact form, withoutsuch projection from the car as engenders danger of injury to or destruction or removal of the placards, and which may readily be adjusted or relatively shifted to conceal any one given placard and its reading and in substitution therefor present to view and hold in place any other given placard of the assemblage, the reading of which is pertinent to the contents of the car.

The employment of the invention obviates the necessity of taking care of and storing and protecting separate placard units, which, in present day practice, frequently become misplaced, injured and mutilated. Such accidents result in delay and loss of time and material and tend to produce intentional or inadvertentI infractions of the regulations governing car-placarding, as above referred to.

The invention has for its object to provide improvements in car or rolling stock placards, interchangeable in nature, and which will be superior in point of relative simplicity and inexpensivencss of construction andorganization, convenience in use, permanence and reliability and durability, and which will be `generally superior in ethciency and serviceability.

llVith the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel and useful provision, construction, organization and relative arrangement of parts, members and features, all as hereinafter described, shown in the drawing, and finally pointed out in claims.

In the drawing 2*-l3`igure 1 is an isometric view of a portion of a railway car door showing the improved interchangeable car placard device applied thereto, the view being taken in a line of vision directed upwardly at the car placard device from a point beneath and at one side of the same; Fig, 2 is a front elevation of the same, upon a diminished scale, the members of the placard device being shown in collapsed form and 1n the positions assumed when one of the same is specifically in service; Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view of the same, taken upon the line XS-Xg, Fig. 2; and, Fig. a is an isometric view of a modiiied form of organization of one of the placard device members.

Corresponding parts in all the ligures are designated by the same reference characters.

Referring with particularity to the drawing, A designates a portion of a door of a freight car or other rolling stock upon which is mounted or installed the interchangeable placard device embodying the invention, and comprising in the main a back plate or member B to which or in connection with which are hinged a plurality of placard plates or mem.- bers, four of which, C, D, E and F, are illustrated in the drawing, which are respectively provided with hinge means c, (Z, c and f arranged in rectangular relation upon the back plate B, at the inner extremities or margins of the several members C to F inclusive, such hinge means, to permit folding and adjustment of all the members, being somewhat flexible in nature or permitting a certain degree of loose motion, so as to form a display field surrounded by such hinge means, and within which is presented to view that placard member which overlies the other placard members and is specically in service at a given time. The placard members, as shown, are preferably rectangular in form, in conformity with the rectangular arrangement of the hinge means, which hinge means may be of any preferred and suitable specific organization; and preferably comprise each a fiat metallic sheet or plate, each of which is of the same dimensions as all of the others of which, so that they may overlie each other in flat contact in serial relation, the innermost of the same in contact with the back plate B, and the outermost of the same, as the member D in Figs. 2 and 3, over-lying the other three members, two of which are Coniined between the innermost member and the outermost member. The four placard members are preferably somewhat elongated horizontally, or in that dimension which corresponds with the longitudinal dimension of the car to which the device is applied, forming longer top and bottom margins and shorter side margins. The upper member is connected with the back plate by its hinge means e at its longer bottom margin, the lower member F is connected with the back plate B by the hinge means f at its upper longer margin, and the intermediate members C and D are connected with the back plate B at their opposed shorter side margins. The member E is provided at its free margin with a hand piece 5, preferably integral and struck from said member, and the lower member F is provided similarly at its free margin with an integral hand piece 6. The members C and E are provided at their free margins with members of locking means G, such members comprising knuckles 7 and 8 struck up from and integral with the members C and D. The several members C to F inclusive are provided at their margins with suitable cutout portions or recesses 9 which accommodate the hand pieces 5 and G and the knuckles 7 and S when the members are folded into flat serial relation. The locking means G comprise in addition to the knuckles '7 and 8 adjustable latches 10 slidably and pivotally supported at the sides of the back plate B by keepers 11 so that they may be swung and slid into engagement with the knuckles 7 and 8 and with the members .E and F, when the same are outermost. Such latches are always engaged with the knuckles 7 and 3; and when the members C and D are not outermost they are also engaged with the members E and F, over-lying-the same adjacent to the cut-out portions 9 therein.

In the modified form of construction shown in Fig. 4, a placard member H- is disclosed which follows the organization of the other placard members in the main, but which is in itself two-membered, comprising separate parts or plates, 12 and 13, united by hinge means 7L at a side or shorter margin of each, one of such plates 13 being organized with hinge means 7c for attachment directly to the back plate B. Such member H bears designating wording or symbols, as shown, upon one face of each of its plates 12 and 13; and by relatively adjusting such plates at the hinge means 7i, either such lettered or marked face may be presented to view, the other such face being concealed beneath the plate the face of which is displayed.

In using the invention, which is applied to the door of the car or other rolling stock, or to other suitable portion of such rolling stock, by attaching the back plate B, with its combined members, in any suitable manner, as by screws or other holding devices driven through suitable openings 14 in the back plate B, that member, C to F, or H, or that part of the member H, upon which is imprinted or shown the proper wording or device indicative of the contents of the car is disposed in outermost position, the other members, or the other parts of such members, being coniined beneath or behind such member or part of member and held in position by the locking means G, the latches 10 of which coact, as described, with the knuckles 7 and 8, and with the marginal port-ions of the members E and F when either of the same is in outermost position. Preferably, each of the members C, D and F bears wording or instructions relative to the contents of the oar, whereas the member E has a blank surface for outward presentation for use in the event that none of the wording appearing upon the other members, or any part of any other member, is properly applicable to the load of the car, or When no placard device is required for service, as when the car is empty. Tn order to relatively adjust the members so as to select and display the proper pertinent placard member, it is only necessary to manipulate the locking means Gr or latches 10 so as to free the margins of the several placard members, whereupon the latter may be swung upon their hinge means and rearranged in such manner as to install in outermost position that member, or that part of any member, which bears the proper Wording or lettering. Thereupon, 'the locking means are again manipulated to effectively hold the members in their newly assembled relation, which assemblage is positively maintained by such locking means until re-arrangement or readjustment is desired. The back plate B is show as provided, beneath the several members O to F, with a slidable adjustable member K which may be for indication or nonindication, as the circumstances may warrant, of one particular character or quality of the load of the car. This member K is shown as consisting of a slide 15 accommodated behind spaced slats or strips 16 preferably integral with the back plate B and formed by punching out spaced openings there-in, through which openings, alternating with the strips, letters upon the slide 15 are adapted to be displayed legibly, when the slide is in one position; such letters being concealed when the slide is moved to another position. The letters of the Word Perishable are shown displayed upon this slide, the ends of which project from the end openings at the ends of the series of strips 16, so as to guide the slide and confine it to its endwise movement. One end of the slide is provided with knuckles or keepers 17 with which co-act a pin or latch 18 of locking means M, said pin or latch being slidablv and pivotally mounted upon the back plate B, in a keeper 19, and readily adjustable to co-act with the keepers 17 to hold the slide in either of its stated positions.

Tt is to be understood that the slidable member K and locking means M therefor, while usable with the present invention do not constitute component features thereof.

By multiplying` the number of marginal portions of each of the members, to form different superficial dimensions, a larger number `of placard members may be employed, than shown in the drawing, the number of hinge means for suoli enlarged number of members being correspondingly multiplied. This is an obvious variation of 0rganization; and such modification, as well as various others which will readily suggest themselves, are to be considered as coming within the scope and spirit of the invention; and we likewise do not desire to be understood as limiting ourselves to the particular form and organization of any parts and features herein shown and described except as required by the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. An interchangeable placard device for rolling stock, comprising a plurality of adjustably mounted placard members each of which is adapted to over-lie the others, certain of said members having varying indicating matter pertinent to the contents of the rolling stock, and means holding the several members in predetermined assemblage; in combination with a back plate adapted to be secured to the car and in connection with which each of said members is hinged.

2. An interchangeable placard device for rolling stock, comprising a plurality of adjustably mounted placard members each of which is adapted to over-lie the others, certain of said members having varying indicating matter pertinent to the contents of the rolling stock, and means holding the several members in predetermined assemblage; one of said members comprising separate parts each having separate indicating matter, said parts being hinged together whereby the indicating m atter of either may be displayed and the indicating matter of the other concealed.

8. An interchangeable placard device for rollingl stock, comprising a back plate adapted to Ybe secured to the car, a plurality of fiat placard members each hinged at one marginal portion to said back plate and of such form and dimensions as to permit the same to be folded together in selected sequence with one of the members over and concealing the other members, certain of said members being provided with varying indicating matter; and locking means for holding the members in predetermined relative arrangement.

In testimony whereof, we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

CHARLES L. HERBST. ROMEO O. AVANSINO.

Vitnesses RAYMOND I. BLAKEsLnE, ALFRED H. DAEHLER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

